The "Social Host Liability": Parents Now Civilly Liable for Accidents of Minors Permitted to Drink at Home

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The "Social Host Liability": Parents Now Civilly Liable for Accidents of Minors Permitted to Drink at Home

By
Law Office of Robert Castro, P.A.
|July 26, 2016

In our society, it is understood that actions bring about consequences,
both good and bad. Sometimes, we may be found criminally and/or civilly
liable for how our actions influence the conduct of others, even if we
were not the bad actors. When it comes to drinking and driving, many states
have been hesitant to blame the bartender for drunken driver’s misconduct
and the ultimate consequences that arise from getting behind the wheel
drunk. Bartender liability, most commonly known as Dram Shop laws, are hitting
Maryland’s Legislative floor as recently as
December 2015, but currently, dram shop laws are not applicable in Maryland. However,
lawmakers have just decided that when it comes to minors in Maryland,
it is a different story.

Court of Appeals: Civil Damages Now Available for Parents of Underage Drinkers

According to the
Baltimore Sun,
Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, recently released a ruling that would include civil
damages and penalties to parents who knowingly let minors drink alcohol
on their property and that later drink, drive, and get into an accident.
Though Maryland has been hesitant to apply liability to bartenders, it
has held for the last 20 years that when children are involved, parents
can be criminally liable for any accident that occurs as a result of their
permission to minors to drink on their property. This is known as “social
host liability.” The new ruling, which will include civil liability
into the list of punishments, will hopefully have the effect of deterring
parents further from permitting underage drinking on their property.

Why Children and Parents are Different than Clients and Bartenders

The reason the Court of Appeals has found liability to attach when children
are involved is due largely to the fact that children, teenagers in particular,
are still in the process of maturing and
lack judgment and rationality. It has been proven throughout several studies and acknowledged in court
that when it comes to teenagers, there is special leniency due to the
fact that they are not fully grown up and may not realize the consequences
of their action. Adults that are in a capacity to supervise their minors
understand the consequences of drinking and driving. In other words, it
is foreseeable to a reasonable person that permitting your minor to drink
(or even buying them alcohol to drink) could lead them to possibly driving
after the party is over.

Limitations of the New Ruling

The law does make the distinction that the parent must be complicit in
the minor’s drinking. The criminal law, as well as the Court, both
understand the distinction made in the law that the parent must be knowingly
and willfully allowing the minor to drink. This would mean that if a minor
snuck into the house with alcohol and with his or her friends, and then
proceeded to get drunk outside the knowledge of the parents, criminal
or civil liability would not extend to the parents in the event that the
minor got into an accident after visiting the party. The law also makes
the distinction that parents will not be criminally or civilly responsible
if they let their minor drink while in the presence of the family members,
such as providing wine for religious purposes at a religious event.

Charles County, MD Personal Injury Lawyers that Fight for You

If your teen has been involved in an automobile accident, please call the
Law Office of Robert R. Castro at (301) 804-2312 for a confidential consultation.

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